8.6.2012

Would you kill me if I changed the name of the trilogy once again? Every time I see 'Shades of Grey' I think it's way too cliché. (And I'm reminded of a . . . book that has somewhat of a similar title -.-")

I have a Twitter account now. You can follow me at karmahopeauthor. I post there things I'm working on, or ideas coming up that may find their way into my fics, or which fics I'm focusing on, or little facts that never make their way into the final draft. So if you want insider info, that's where to follow me.

Karmyn also has a Facebook, as I said in my author's note along with the thing above. Just search 'Karmyn Dallas' and you should find her. So if you ever want to talk to her as if she's a real person . . . that's were to go. It should be pretty cool.

PICTURE OF KARMYN'S HAND AND AUTOMAIL! the-turtle-alchemist . deviantart # /d5bfnj7

And . . . right. Let's see if I can finally write this thing.

I'd like to thank SA Homunculus as well, for helping me decide whether what I wanted to do was Mary-Sue or not. That is my biggest concern at the moment. Thank you!

-O-o-O-

The blonde haired teenager put her large briefcase down on the ground beside her, observing the green building that sat in front of her. The four letters spelling out the simple word at the top seemed more intimidating than ever before, and she gulped nervously.

Hesitantly, she raised her gloved fist to knock at the door. She was about an inch away from doing so when the door swung open violently. Instinctively the girl threw herself to the side, her back slamming against the wall next to the door. Taking a much-needed breath of air, she looked at the dark-haired woman whose seemingly random attack she had just dodged.

The older woman looked around for a minute, searching for the person that she knew was there. When she whirled around and saw the teen pressed up against the door, the harsh look in her eyes and the tenseness in her body seemed to melt away.

"Oh. It's you," she said once she had relaxed. "Where are the boys?"

"They're not here," the blonde said, peeling herself away from the wall. "I'm not even really sure where they are. I haven't seen them in months."

The one that faced her was obviously surprised. "I'm surprised. You seemed so close when I saw you last." The dark-haired lady watched as the teen's eyes hardened- a look that she had only seen in one other blond-haired youth before.

"I need to be stronger," the girl said in a dangerously calm tone. "I'm weak, and I'm holding them back. I was naïve, and that got me into . . . that . . . incident," she said, clenching her fist. "I was ignorant, and it cost me. I need to be stronger," she reiterated. "I need to be able to keep up with them once I tell them the truth."

"The truth?" the older woman inquired, raising an eyebrow at the young lady before her. There was no doubt- she definitely took after the golden-eyed young man.

"The truth," she confirmed. "The Homunculi are back. I'm the only one that knows; you're the only one I've told. I know you absolutely despise the idea, but I need a State Certification. I'm telling you now beforehand so that you know what I'll be getting myself into eventually."

The teen spoke in a monotone- her cool, calm voice and composure giving nothing away. This was almost nothing like the bright girl that the woman had met once before. No. This girl had seen the world, been through things that no one should have to go through. Her blue and green eyes were solemn, but somewhere in the depths burned a spark of determination. She knew that gaze, and she was familiar with the repercussions that followed.

"I'm not making any promises," she told the blonde standing before her, "but come inside and we'll talk. From there, we'll see."

"Thank you," the girl said gravely, nodding her head gratefully. With that, she picked up her case and followed the woman into the building.

-O-o-O-

6 June, 1919

They didn't actually fight in front of the entirety of Central Headquarters, instead choosing to head around to the back. They had decided to move after Alphonse had pointed out they would be disturbing the rest of the military officers that were out that morning

Karmyn had a feeling she already knew what the outcome of this match was going to be. Sure, she had trained for two years in six types of alchemy and some form of martial arts, but her opponent already had years of experience under his proverbial belt. Over ninety years of it, she suspected, as the Elrics wouldn't have been the types to slack off on their physical training while they couldn't do alchemy. Still, it would be a worthwhile experience for her. Most of the enemies she would come up against would have at least the same skill as Edward, if not more.

True, she still had quite a few tricks up her sleeve that had the potential to catch Edward off his guard. She had been given the title 'Wildcard' for a reason, after all. If she pulled them off correctly, she might have the slightest chance at winning this match. It wasn't much, but at least it was something.

They were standing in a grassy patch in the shadow of the large concrete building. The female alchemist smirked a little to herself- the Elric didn't know that in choosing this location he was giving her an advantage. Well, whatever. It wasn't like she was going to tell him that. He would find out soon enough just what she had been training herself to death – almost quite literally – in for the past few years. She only hoped that it would pay off- this would be her first real test against someone that didn't already know how she fought.

Alphonse took a place by one of the trees that were nearby. He leaned against it, but was smart enough not to sit down. He had learned over the years that no place was entirely safe during one of his brother's battles, and that it was very possible that he would need to get out of there in a heartbeat. He watched as his brother and his friend took their places on opposite ends, approximately ten yards from each other.

The two blonds prepared for their fight. Both Karmyn and Edward stripped themselves of their jackets, tossing them to one side. Ed stretched out his arms while Karmyn stood in place and re-pinned her hair even tighter, hoping that it wouldn't decide to come down while she was in the middle of the fight. Her gloves were off, and Al could see the unnatural silver glinting at the ends of her fingers. With her hairclip in place, she pulled her collapsed staff from where it hung at her belt. With a click, it sprung to its full length and she held it out parallel to the ground in front of her.

There was a determined glint in the narrowed blue-green eyes that evenly matched the one in the golden eyes across the way. The nineteen-year-old's own grey eyes flicked back and forth between the two alchemists that faced each other. Honestly, he had no clue what the outcome of this match would be. True, his brother was the Fullmetal Alchemist, but if Karmyn's second name was truly as accurate as his brother's, his own, and the names of all the other alchemists they knew, then they could be in for a bit of a surprise. 'Wildcard' suggested that her methods of fighting would be unusual and unpredictable which would make it hard for Edward, whose own method was pretty straightforward, to adapt quickly.

Al knew that he should have been rooting for his brother, yet a part of him couldn't help but hope that it would in fact be Karmyn that won. Since they had taken their places, he had hardly been able to take his eyes off his wayward friend for longer than a few seconds at most. He told himself that it was because he hadn't seen her in years, and he was still trying to catalog the differences that those years had made.

From his vantage point by the tree, he could easily see the darker lines and roughened skin that marred the side of her face. Though truthfully, 'marred' wasn't quite the right word. There are some scars that do simply mutilate the flesh, but then there are also those that represent a sort of personal strength. The lines on Karmyn's face were of the second category, a physical reminder of the personal hell she had been through and come out on top of.

Of course, that could have just been his opinion. He seemed to be rather biased when it came to that woman, though he'd never admit it.

Karmyn, of course, was unaware of his gaze and the thoughts running through his head. She was a hundred percent focused on the Elric in front of her. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, steadying her muscles and her nerves as she did so. It was a trick that she had picked up when she had started gymnastics all those years ago, and it transferred nicely when she began to train her body once again.

"I'm ready whenever you are," she called across to her sparring partner, whose eyes glinted excitedly.

"Don't think I'm going to let you off easy because you're new at this!" He called as he clapped his hands and transmuted his arm into his standard blade.

"I wouldn't expect you to," was the calm reply in return. In her head, she was anything but calm. She was calculating her options, running each scenario through her head. She shifted her grip on her staff, grasping it more firmly. She heard the sharp clap of Edward creating his inner circle, and her attention was brought to the racing sparks of blue energy running toward her.

Grabbing her staff with her second hand, she predicted where the transmuted block of earth would shoot out from. As soon as it made its appearance, she smashed the end of her metal rod into it, disintegrating it before it hit her. Of course, as this was happening she was also aware of Edward running up behind his block of earth, ready to attack her once she was caught off guard by the alchemical barrage.

She had, of course, predicted this. Wasn't it usually what he did in a fight? At last, those hours of watching the FMA anime paid off. Almost as soon as she had hit the block with her staff, deconstructing it before it had fully manifested, she ducked in and rolled to the side. She slammed her right hand down onto the grass, activating the transmutation circle on her ring finger. Green light raced along the ground toward the other alchemist.

Al watched as the encounter took place. Already, he had no clue what the female was doing. She had deconstructed his brother's attack with a tap from her staff, leading him to believe that not only did she have circles on her fingers; she had a basic one on the flat end of her pole as well. He looked on in interest as the green light moved toward Edward. The only other time he had seen green alchemical light was during their run-in with the Tringham brothers, meaning that this must have been some sort of earth/plant alchemy that she was using now.

As he was running, Edward suddenly lost his balance. Instinctively, he tucked his body in and rolled forward in a somersault, keeping himself from landing flat on his face and using the momentum to propel himself back to his feet. What had caused him to misstep like that? It was as if his foot had glued itself to the ground for a split second, causing him to fumble when he went to pick it up again. When he looked down at said foot, he saw little tendrils of green sticking to it.

He shot a look at Karmyn, who by this point was back on her feet. It seemed that she had simply used this maneuver to buy her enough time to get back up. Edward raised his eyebrows, somewhat impressed. It certainly seemed like she had learned a trick or two since she'd been gone. Well. Let's see how far her little 'tricks' would get her.

Inside, Karmyn was elated. This was the first time she had used her alchemy in a practical encounter. Sure, she had trained like mad for years now, but this was the first serious fight that she had ever partaken in with her new skills. She was thrilled that her idea of growing grass over the Fullmetal Alchemist's foot to trip him up had actually worked, and she thanked the stars that she'd had the foresight to engrave a transmutation circle on the end of her staff.

Really, it was all a matter of thinking ahead.

She knew that if she allowed Edward to get close, he'd have the match in the bag. She could easily keep up alchemically, possibly even obtain the advantage, but she was no match for him physically in close combat. With this in mind, their battle continued.

Karmyn deflected the spikes that Edward shot at her with the end of her staff, deconstructing them back into nothing. Bracing herself, she flipped backward a few feet, putting some more space between her and her opponent. She fumbled a little on the landing, but managed to stay on her feet. When she once again had her balance, she set to spinning her staff in front of her as she had been doing just a bit earlier.

Alphonse could see the advantages to what she was doing. With the metal pole whirling, it would be hard for an opponent to find an opening without hurting themselves. He looked on in interest as his brother ran forward, searching for any opening he could find as he rushed her. He found one, and the air was suddenly filled with the sound of clanging metal as the automail met the polearm.

There was no shock absorbance in her staff, causing a bolt of pain to shoot up the female alchemist's arm. She grabbed her weapon with her free hand as well, giving herself a bit more force and control behind it. She and Edward exchanged blows for a few minutes, him on the offense and her on the defense. After a while she could feel the effects starting to take a toll on her arms, and she knew she had to get him off her somehow.

-O-o-O-

"So you're telling me that you want to learn not only alchemy, but five specialized types?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And you're doing this so that you can become a dog of the military?"

"Yes, ma'am. A most likely disobedient dog, but a dog all the same. I feel that it's what I have to do."

Silence. Then-

"I admire your drive and determination, and I know that if I won't train you, you will find someone who will. There is nothing I can say to stop you."

"Does that mean-"

"Explain 'All is one-'"

"'-and one is all.' Yes. I know. I am the one, the world is the all. The earth made me, and when I die, I will return to the earth."

Sigh.

"You are intelligent. I really have no more excuses. We start early in the morning. Be ready then."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

"Call me Teacher like the boys do."

A smile.

-O-o-O-

She activated the transmutation circle on her middle finger, moving her hands to the two spots on the staff that allowed her to hold it safely. She touched the transmutation circle to the smooth metal, charging it with electricity. This was the only way that she was able to use her alchemic electricity so far- whenever she tried to make a spark freely, it would simply blow up in her face. She needed the guidance in order for it to work properly.

The next time she blocked one of her friend's blows, he received a nasty shock of electricity through his automail arm. Metal conducts, after all. The electric charges that scurried through his arm messed with the minute electric pulses that controlled it, temporarily disabling his primary weapon.

Edward backed up a bit until he was out of reach of Karmyn. How was this? She was still green, and she hadn't made an offensive move yet. Why did it seem like she had the upper hand? In a way it felt like she was just playing with him, keeping him at bay when she could really just finish him off. He watched as she sent her staff back into the whirling pattern she had adopted before.

If he could just get the staff out of her hands . . .

By now, he was starting to regain a bit of control in his arm. He clenched and unclenched his fist until it felt normal again. Alright. He wasn't going to play around anymore.

Karmyn stood her ground as he ran at her again, a determined look in his eyes that she matched in her own. She ducked down, this time using the circle on her pinky finger. A thin sheet of ice began to expand from where she touched the ground, making it slippery and reducing the traction. She quickly stood up again so that she could begin the second part of her attack.

Ed had been running too fast to stop in time, so he couldn't help but be caught up by her ice trap. He slipped a little bit, and he almost didn't notice the branch of flames that came flying toward him as well. He used the ice to his advantage then, putting his hand down and sliding forward underneath the fiery attack. He came up in front of Karmyn, whose vision had been somewhat obscured by the fire.

He knocked the staff forcefully from her hand, catching her by surprise. A brief 'oh, crap' flashed upon her face before she flipped back from him once again, suggesting that Edward had just done the one thing that would win him this fight.

Karmyn bit her lip as she clapped her hands to elongate the claws on the backs of her fingers. Melee fighting wasn't her strong point- from here on out she would be imitating what she had seen Edward do in the past, warping it to fit her own style.

She clapped her hands and slammed them down on the ground, sending attacks of earth at her friend. He jumped over them easily, swiping at her once again with his arm. Clenching her teeth, she bent her fingers in what she recognized as an ASL 'e' so that her claws would overlap in front of her hand. It was in this way that she blocked his blade. It hurt, but it worked. She kicked out at him in a roundhouse kick, but he easily blocked this with his own leg.

Grabbing his automail arm with her hand, she activated her electric circle again. She heard him curse loudly as his arm was put temporarily out of commission once again. Wasting no time, she immediately bent down at ripped his pant leg with her claws so that she could do the same with his metal leg.

His leg buckled beneath him, and he knew that he was in for it if he didn't do something quickly. He had clearly underestimated just what she could do. It wasn't even that she was all that powerful- it was just that her methods of fighting were so damn unconventional! Wildcard was certainly one way of describing it!

Ed didn't have any more time to think as a large gust of wind caused him to lose his balance. He caught it again just as the woman was directing a kick at his solar plexus. Using his flesh hand, he caught her leg and yanked it around, causing her to fall to the ground. His victory was short-lived, however, as she had taken her new lower position to swipe his still-functioning foot out from underneath him.

In the end, both alchemists were on the ground. It was hard to tell who exactly had won, as they had both ended up in the same place.

"Draw?" Karmyn offered breathily as she reverted her claws. She of course thought that she had actually won, despite what she had thought earlier. She also knew what the Fullmetal Alchemist's ego was like, so she was willing to back down a bit. She had no compulsion to be better than the Hero of Amestris.

"Sure," Edward reluctantly agreed. He wasn't going to admit that the girl nearly bested him, probably did best him. He knew that he had to give her some of the credit, however. He was actually pretty impressed by how much she had learned in the past few years, and the creative ways she was able to use that knowledge.

Al, seeing that the match was for all intents and purposes over, left his safe spot by the tree. Thoughts were tumbling over and over in his head, thoughts that were mostly centered around one blonde-haired alchemist. She had been so graceful as she was fighting, using her alchemy more as an art than a weapon. It was obvious that she had thought long and hard about all the various ways that she could use the alchemy in ways that would gain her the upper hand.

As he approached his friend and his brother, he saw that they were still both sitting on the ground, talking about something or other. Karmyn's hair had almost completely come out of its clip, and it was hanging around her shoulders. When she sensed him approaching, she broke off from her conversation with Ed and beamed at him.

It was when his heart skipped a beat that he knew he was in some serious trouble.

"Well, if you ask me, I won," she called out from where she was sitting. This statement brought an immediate reaction from Edward.

"Hey! I thought you said it was a draw!" he protested vehemently.

Karmyn stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "That's what I said," she pointed out, "not what I actually thought."

Alphonse was still watching them as the twenty year old clapped his hands and pressed them to the earth, causing cuffs of dirt to rise up around Karmyn's wrists and ankles. She tried to move, and when she couldn't, she glared at the man.

"I think I've won now," Ed told her. She simply raised an eyebrow.

Seconds later, Edward was also constrained. She had grown grass and vines around his legs and arms until he couldn't move just as much as she.

"Okay," she conceded, "maybe it's more of a stalemate."

Looking back and forth between them skeptically, Al couldn't help but break into laughter. It was almost as if they were a couple of bickering siblings. Either that or they were just a couple, but for some reason he didn't really want to think of the second one.

"Hey, Alphonse?" Karmyn asked innocently, looking up at him with wide eyes, "could you please~ undo these cuffs of mine?"

This shocked him for some reason, and he couldn't help but just stare at her for a second before processing what she said. "Uhm, sure," he said before doing just that.

Karmyn got up and stood over Edward for a minute. "I guess I should probably let you up as well," she said. "I get the feeling that the General would be pretty pissed at me if I didn't. I dunno. Maybe he would thank me. Al, what do you think?"

"Uhm, he is my brother," the alchemist pointed out to her.

"Right. Well, for you then. For you, I'll let your brother up." With that, she placed her hand on the ground and unwound the grasses from around Ed.

For the next few hours, they just messed about Central as if they were seventeen and eighteen again. It had been a long time since Karmyn had allowed herself just to relax and have fun, and she was enjoying every bit of it with her best friends. Edward cheered up about the results of their match, and Al was left thinking about things he thought had faded away long ago . . .

None of them spoke of the impending mission across the desert.

-O-o-O-

8.16.2012